The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
More than one engine controller may be used to control an internal combustion engine. For example, in an engine with dual controllers, each controller may control half of the cylinders. The controllers determine a phase relationship between a camshaft and a crankshaft separately during a synchronization process when the engine is started. Fuel injection and spark timing for a front bank of cylinders and a back bank of cylinders are determined based on the phase relationship. Improper controller synchronization may result in improper fuel injector and spark plug scheduling.
For an engine with a single controller, improper controller synchronization may prevent the engine from starting. However, for an engine with dual engine controllers, an engine may be started when only one controller is synchronized. Cylinders associated with the properly-synchronized controller may provide enough power to drive the other cylinders associated with an improperly-synchronized controller. Consequently, fuel injection and spark timing for the other cylinders may not be controlled based on a predetermined schedule.